The Vigilante & the Outlaw
by Maple Princess
Summary: Though they do not have the same conception of how to achieve their goals, they both aim for the same thing: justice. A collection of fics for the Mc76 week. There is also an illustration for each day, available on my tumblr. Please enjoy!
1. Reaching out

**Reaching out**  
 **(Day 1 - Then and Now)**  
 _Accompying art on my tumblr !_

Once upon a time, there was a rebellious kid who hung out with the wrong crowd. After he captured the skilled youth, the leader of an organisation seeking to protect humanity offered him to join their ranks ; the young man accepted, flattered and honored to be seen as someone with potential, someone better than a bandit - plus, he didn't really want to rot in prison for the rest of his life.

But darker times awaited both the helpful soldier and the talented cowboy. Their paths were forcefully separated, one thought dead, the other running away.

The soldier didn't die, though. Under a new identity, covering his face, he kept true to his vow of protecting humanity, even if it meant doing so on his own terms. And so he fought, freeing people from their oppressors, taking down one gang of criminals at the time.

One day, he got ambushed by one of his resentful enemies. The old soldier would have been shot dead, if not for an outlaw swiftly taking the bandits down, and offering him a helping hand, asking him to join an organization they were both familiar with and who had risen from the ashes.

The soldier accepted, taking the cowboy's hand in his own and not letting go.


	2. His last will

**His last will**  
 **(Day 2 - Loss)  
** _Accompanying art available on my tumblr!_

There were many things Jesse McCree liked about Angela Ziegler. Her kindness, her eternal hope, the way she carried herself ; but, above all, he cherished her honesty. She'd always tell the truth when she found out something weird during a check up. She'd say it so gently, of course; nevertheless, she presented all of the facts to her patients.

So it wasn't really a surprise when, as McCree dressed up after his monthly check up, he saw Mercy clearing her throat. She'd been eyeing some of his MRI scans with a dreadful expression earlier, and he expected some bad news to be delivred to him before he got to leave her office.

"McCree..." she begun. The cowboy shot her a reassuring smile; whatever she had to say, he would hear.

"There's no abnormalities in the rest of your examination, but your scans results worry me." she announced after a short silence. "Your brain arteries seem damaged, and I'm afraid this is caused by an intensive utilisation of your ultimate ability."

McCree sighed, dread starting to settle in his throat. He had been expecting something of the sort. Lately, using Deadeye often gave him terrible headaches or a sharp, intense pain in the eye.

"So? What's your prescription then, doc?" he asked, trying to keep his composure. He had no doubt Mercy would see right through his facade, but he also knew she would say nothing about it.

"Do not ever use it again. I have no idea how long your arteries will be able to withstand this."

The lump in McCree's throat got even bigger, and he turned his eyes away from Mercy.

"Doesn't matter." he muttered, more to himself than to the doctor. "I'm a good shot anyways, so..."

... so he had been right - or so he thought. It had been a few weeks since Mercy's discoveries, and McCree had listened to her advice, never giving in to the urge of using his last resort. It didn't prevent him from taking his targets down, so was it really an issue?

McCree turned those thoughts into a mantra, repeating it to himself before every mission.

He hadn't been prepared for a surprised attack, though. No one really was; they all had thought their secret base, their last bastion, would be impossible to find. Talon proved Overwatch wrong, and as he was starting to take a nap in his quarters, McCree was suddenly shot wide awake thanks to the alarm blaring in every room of the base.

Uttering every insult he knew, he grabbed his Peacemaker and tried to reach someone, anyone, with his wireless earpiece. But Talon had obviously been prepared, as only the sound of static answered him.

So he rushed into the fight, taking down any enemy on sight. Adrenaline rushing through his veins, he shot and shot again, not even registering when he got a kill. Only one thought was on his mind ; protecting Overwatch's last hope.

That thought was quickly overriden, though, when he spotted Soldier 76 on the floor right under the corridor he was standing on. Most precisely, he spotted Soldier and the sniper aiming at him.

McCree didn't even consciously process what was happening. There was one bullet in his gun, and an enemy ready to kill the one person he had ever truly loved. He had one shot at this.

He took it.

The familiar feeling overflew his whole body as he readied his gun, time seeming to slow down only for him. He didn't even see the sniper hitting the floor below him, or heard his own cry of despair. There was only the most atrocious pain he ever felt rushing to his right eye, and he followed the sniper, his body hitting the floor with a loud crashing noise.

Soldier immediatly aimed at the direction of the double noise, before gasping in horror. Not caring about the fallen Talon agent, his rushed to McCree. Blood was oozing from his nose and his eyes, dripping on his serape, dark spots on the red fabric.

"Jesse!" the old man yelled, taking the cowboy in his arms. "Jesse, can you hear me?"

"Y-yeah..." the brunette grumbled.

"Mercy!" Soldier started shouting in his earpiece. "Mercy, McCree is wounded-"

He was stopped by McCree weakly grabbing on to his arm and whispering:

"It's... to late. Ain't anythin' she... can do for me now."

"Nonsense, she-"

"Jack."

McCree's warm eyes were locked on him, full of love in spite of the life leaving them.

"It's okay..." McCree whispered.

Soldier had seen way too many comrades fall in combat to deny the reality of what was happening. As much as he hated to admit it, McCree was right. Mercy performed surgeries, not miracles.

He brought his hand to McCree's chest, feeling his heartbeat one last time. Jesse smiled, as he brought a trembling hand to Soldier's.

"I couldn't have dreamt... of a better place... to leave this earth."

As McCree's last breath was leaving his limp body, tears flowed down on the old soldier's face, hidden by his mask.

Yeaaaah this was pretty sad, I have no idea why I did such an angsty thing lmao

Also my headcanon for McCree's Deadeye is that it allows him to focus immensly and use all of his brain's ressources with a quick increase of the blood stream in his brain to bring more oxygen, but the high blood pressure damages the arteries.


	3. Unexpected visit

**Unexpected visit**  
 **(Day 3 - Reunion)**  
 _Accompying art available on my tumblr!_

It had been a while since Jesse had last seen Strike-Commander Morrison. He didn't know when exactly, but it had been way before the accident -around five weeks, give or take a few days. The young man had been doing a lot of missions for Blackwatch, and Morrison had probably been busy running Overwatch, as always.

So Jesse hadn't exactly expected Jack to pay him a visit. Only Gabriel and Angela had been coming to his room in the military hospital since he had been admitted there.

McCree had been sitting on his bed, absentmindedly watching the surrounding fields through the window, when he had heard a firm knock on the door. Startled, he had shouted "Come on in!", expecting Angela to come into his room with yet another bouquet of flowers or some chocolates. He did a double take when the door opened on Jack Morrison, clad in clothes less formal than his usual uniform.

Jesse's eyes went wide as the blond man came closer to him, his usually strict features softened.

McCree couldn't help feeling suddenly miserable. He didn't mind Gabriel and Angela seeing him at his most vulnerable ; he had been through hell and back with his boss, and his medic friend was used to see all of the world's misery. But for Jack, to see him like this, not having recovered from the terrible injury… he had no idea what it made him feel so uneasy.

And suddenly, it was too much. The tears he had been holding back since he lost his left arm flowed on his cheeks, McCree's pride not being enough anymore. Before he knew it, Jack's strong hands were on his shoulders, maroon eyes looking at him with concern.

"McCree, what's wrong?"

The young cowboy backed away, muttering that he "didn't want no pity" from the soldier. He immediatly regretted, afraid to have offended Jack; but at the same time, he hated the thought of being pitied because of his new condition.

"This is not pity, McCree. This is me caring about you. I came to you because I heard about what happened during your last mission and wanted to check up on you myself."

Jesse lifted his humid gaze from the ground, locking eyes with his superior.

"If I bother you, though, I'll be on my way."

From the way Jack smiled at him, Jesse instantly knew it wasn't a threat or the soldier being offended. The brunette shook his head, wiping tears away with his right hand. Jack slowly walked up to him, and with McCree's silent agreement, put his hands back on his shoulders.

"Don't be ashamed. You can let it all out. I know you're strong, and I know how hard this situation is for you."

This time McCree didn't walk away, and buried his face in Jack's chest. All the pain, sadness and rage he had been holding back since he had woke up with his limb amputated rushed to the surface, getting out of his body in the form of broken, loud sobs dried up by the fabric of Jack's sweater.

After he felt like he had nothing left he needed to get out, he took time to make sure his voice wouldn't be shaky, and offered Jack his trademark - although sightly trembling - grin.

-

OK so it might seem like I enjoy putting McCree in pain but I have no idea why I do this

Like he's one of the best Overwatch characters for me, imo second only to Mercy

SO YEAH I LOVE MY BANG BANG HUSBAND


	4. Watching over you

**Watching over you**  
 **(Day 4 - Trust)**  
 _Accompying art on my tumblr!_

Jack Morrison had never been one to believe in fairy tales, urban legends or mythical beings. Even as a kid, he wasn't as naive as children usually are; he was always skeptical of everything, wanting to see things by himself to start believing.

His whole way of approching things radically changed on a peaceful Wednesday afternoon, a few weeks after his 17th birthday. He was sitting at his desk, silently working on his homework, when he heard a loud crashing noise coming from downstairs. He froze. Everyone else was supposed to be out of the house.  
Jack left his room with as little noise as he could, his pulse racing, afraid someone had broke into the house, and precauciously went down the stairs.

That moment marked his first encounter with what could only be described as the most extraordinary person he ever met.

The person was lying on the floor of the entrance, broken glass surrounding him. He seemed passed out, but there were no injuries visibles. Jack barely noticed that the young man was faintly holding a gun, as he was much more interested in the fact that the stranger had wings.

As he noticed when he came closer to the brown haired man, there weren't made of feathers, but rather of a weird material that seemed to reflect the light and shone with pink and purple hues. He was about to dial 911 on his phone when the stranger opened his eyes; there were a bit misty, but Jack could clearly see their color, a warm brown.

"Fuck..." he muttered as he sat up. He then turned his head towards Jack, but didn't react, as if the blonde wasn't here. "Now, how am I supposed to patch this mess up..."  
"Excuse me, but who are you, and what are you doing in my house?"

The man seemed startled at Jack's question, and what little of color was left on his face seemed to be drained immediatly.

"Hold on a minute, you... you can see me?!"  
"It... would be pretty hard not to, with what you've got on your back." Jack replied in disbelief. The situation managed to get even weirder with each second passing.  
"Oh shit, now the boss' gonna be mad..."  
"Would you mind answering my question?"

The teenager's tone seemed polite, but there was some threatening undertone hidden in his voice.

"Yeah, yeah... guess I have no choice." the stranger sighed as he stood up, hastily dusting off his short robe. "I'm Jesse, your guardian angel."  
"Guardian... angel?"  
"Mmh."

Jack blinked. It had to be some elaborate joke. Angels didn't exist ; besides, why would he, of all people, get one?

"I know it's a lot to take in." Jesse said in an amused tone. "Especially for folks like you. But this is real."

As if to prove his point, Jesse's wings started to move slightly, making him hover above the floor.

"See?"  
"How... how long have you been watching me?"

Jack felt mortified that someone could have possibly been watching his every movement, even if it was some sort of celestial being.

"Not long, actually, I'd say less than a year. The one that was taking care of you before... his contract ended abruptly."

Jesse looked away as he ended his sentence.

"Something happened to him?"  
"Yeah. He got shot by the same guy who tried to take me down, but ain't no one getting rid of me so easily."  
"Angels... can die?"

The brown haired man nodded as he started to grab the pieces of glass scattered around him.

"If a demon gets their hands on them, they can and they probably will. Unless they've got something of this kind."

He proudly showed off his revolver.

"Mind helping me out there? I don't wanna miss a piece."  
"What kind of guardian angel are you?" Jack asked, but he still helped. There was still a high chance this was some kind of fever dream, so he didn't mind playing along.

* * *

It turned out it wasn't a dream, at all. Jesse had to call some back up to help with the broken window, as he apparently didn't know how to fix it. A lady all clad in white, with metallic wings emitting a warm light, showed up shortly after and repaired it with a wave of her hand. Jesse told her she was named Mercy and was her new boss and mentor, as the previous one had kind of decided to side along demons.

He also explained that guardian angels weren't supposed to materialize in front of the people they protected, but he had accidently done so when he had been wounded by an enemy. He added that a war had started recently between Heaven and Hell, and that more and more demons directly attacked angels instead of trying to corrupt humans.

Jack had listened, waiting to wake up at some point. He hadn't.

And then, he met up with Jesse every night. The angel disappeared during the day, as it made Jack extremely uncomfortable to see someone over his shoulder all the time. Plus, no one else saw Jesse, and he didn't want to end up looking crazy.

Every night, Jesse would tell him stories about what life was like as an angel. Jack would listen and ask questions, and soon found himself looking up books or websites about mythical beasts and old tales.

He also knew what Jesse did for him when he couldn't see him. Well, he didn't know exactly, but he had an idea, if the wounds showing up on the tanned skin and changing places every day were any indication. Jack guessed he was a target for some reason, and that Jesse protected him with all his might.

One evening, as the sun was barely starting to set on the countryside surrounding the Morrisons' property, Jesse got an idea.

"How 'bout I take you for a nice ride?"

Jack got pretty flustered at first, as he thought the angel has surprisingly lewd intentions. But it turned out Jesse was proposing him to fly around for a bit, and reassured, Jack accepted with mixed emotions. He had been afraid of heights ever since he was a child, and he was pretty sure Jesse knew about it, just with the grin the angel gave him. But he accepted, certain that if there was one person who could help him through his fear, it was Jesse.

And so Jesse took him in his arms, carrying him effortlessly. He jumped out of the balcony of Jack's room, and flew away from the house. Jack was sweating at first, not daring to look down, keeping his eyes shut and focusing on the warm wind of a July evening caressing his face.

"Holding on there, partner?"  
"Y-yeah..." the blonde managed to articulate.

After a while, as he listened to Jesse describe their surroundings to him, Jack decided to have a look for himself. Taking a deep breath, he slightly turned his head away from the angel's chest, and though he felt like his stomach was falling to his feet, he couldn't take his eyes away from the view.

The sunset was breathtaking, coloring the sky with shades of orange and pink. Below them, a city's streets were lit, making it look like the place was warm and welcoming. Just above the pair, stars started twinkling in the sky.

"It's..."

For once in his life, Jack Morrison was at a loss for words, his eyes sparkling with wonder. Jesse laughed, and gave him a chaste kiss on the forehead, earning a light blush.

"I'm so proud of you, Jack."

-  
Guardian angel AU ! I want to go back to it someday and expand on it. Such as having Reaper and Widowmaker as demons, Tracer as an angel and Jesse's best friend...


End file.
